McLaren

At the top of the championship pile by being the most effective team on the grid rather than the fastest. The car is lightning quick in a straight line but lacks downforce and the upgrades introduced so far have not delivered the necessary results. On the driving strength the team are sitting pretty. Lewis Hamilton is having a stellar year in terms of skill and commitment while Jenson Button has proved with his speed and guile in changeable conditions that his championship last year was no flash in the pan. Need to keep developing the car if they are to stay in front. Prediction: Hamilton 4th, Button 5th

Mercedes

The team is in its third incarnation in three seasons. Having risen out of the ashes of Honda as Brawn GP and winning the title with Jenson Button at the wheel, they now appear to struggling somewhat even with the might of Mercedes behind them. Nico Rosberg is having a solid enough season but Michael Schumacher's return after three years in retirement has not gone according to plan. Everyone from Mercedes boss Norbert Haug to the driver himself insists it will all come good, but the German is 41 years old and simply not the intimidating force he once was. Prediction: Schumacher 10th, Rosberg 8th

Red Bull

Certainly the car of the year so far but there are obvious tensions in the driving department and the management has not been too clever when it comes to handling Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Ten pole positions and five race wins should be enough to have the team at the top of both championships but when they make mistakes, they are big ones. Vettel driving into Webber when he tried to take the lead in Turkey was bad enough but then the team pointed the finger of blame at the Australian. The front wing fiasco at Silverstone only fanned the flames. One of these two should win the title, if they don't team principal Christian Horner will have some questions to answer. Prediction: Vettel 1st, Webber 2nd

Ferrari

Pre-season favourites in many pundits' eyes, based on the signing of Fernando Alonso, and that seemed to be borne out when Felipe Massa followed the Spaniard over the line for a one-two at the opening race of the season in Bahrain. But then the flame red cars went cold and although points were being collected, they were not in big numbers and there was plenty of head scratching at Maranello. When the upgrades came on stream the team were dogged with bad luck, but the result in Germany proves that Ferrari are right back on the pace, even if the circumstances surrounding Alonso's win are still under scrutiny. Prediction: Alonso 3rd, Massa 6th

Williams

A very clear blend of youth and experience should pay dividends for one of the most popular teams in the paddock. Reigning GP2 champion Nico Hülkenberg is learning the ropes without any in-season testing and has managed a couple of points finishes. Some might say this is a poor return for the young German but he's not called the New Schumi for nothing. The evergreen Rubens Barrichello will start his 300th grand prix at Spa next month but is still a bundle of speed and enthusiasm despite all that mileage. The only cloud is most of the team's major sponsors are withdrawing at the end of the year. Prediction: Barrichello 11th, Hülkenberg 15th

Renault

Once the team's participation in this year's championship was confirmed - after a buyout by the financier Gerard López - the signing of Robert Kubica was a masterstroke. The Pole has been on it all season long and has dragged his Renault to places where it really does not belong. It really is a shame that one of the very fastest drivers in F1 is not in one of the big four teams, but it has damaged his reputation not a jot. Vitaly Petrov brings speed, a hefty repair bill and a bundle of sponsorship cash. He too is learning without the benefit of testing but the Russian is top points scorer among the rookies and looks the real deal. Prediction: Kubica 7th, Petrov 12th

Force India

The most-improved team on the grid. A little over a year ago it was a triumph to get through the first part of qualifying, now there is disappointment if they do not have at least one car, usually Adrian Sutil's, in the top-10 shoot-out. This year's car is not as extreme as its predecessor so don't expect the miracle of Spa to be repeated this year, but consistency is the key and the Silverstone-based team continues to develop fast. Vitantonio Liuzzi needs to be scoring more regularly if he is to keep a race seat ahead of the promising Scot Paul di Resta. Prediction: Sutil 9th, Liuzzi 15th

Toro Rosso

Somehow the most anonymous team and driver pairing there is in Formula One. Red Bull's junior outfit have not really trained on since Sebastian Vettel left at the end of 2008 and neither Sébastien Buemi nor Jaime Alguersuari appear to be at a level to take the team forward. Alguersuari made a bit of a name for himself by fending off Michael Schumacher in Australia but running into the back of his team-mate, as he did on the opening lap in Germany, is not the sort of behaviour that guarantees long-term employment. Prediction: Buemi 16th, Alguersuari 17th

Lotus

Most impressive of the new teams and the one that is likely to be around the longest. In Tony Fernandes, the Malaysian airline tycoon, Lotus have a committed figurehead who knows how to get the most out of small beginnings and the presence of Mike Gascoyne on the pit wall adds experience and calm authority. In the cockpit Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen are experienced drivers who can help develop not just the car but also the team. They are already concentrating on next year's car, a sign of confidence that is not easily found at that end of the pit lane. Prediction: Kovalainen 19th, Trulli 20th

HRT

What started life as Campos Meta morphed into Hispania Racing shortly before the season started and has not really got out of first gear. Neither car turned a wheel before Bahrain and Karun Chandhok's first run was in qualifying. The onboard footage of the Indian's F1 baptism was terrifying. Chandhok and Bruno Senna have been brave and done the best with the machinery they have but both have had to step aside for Japanese journeyman Sakon Yamamoto, who brings money but not speed to the team. When Bernie Ecclestone said he thought the grid might shrink before the end of the year, he was referring to this lot. Prediction: Chandhok 21st, Senna 23rd, Yamamoto 25th

Sauber

When BMW pulled the plug Peter Sauber came to the rescue of the team that had historically carried his name and given F1 debuts to Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. The Moby Dick appearance of the car, with hardly a sponsor's sticker in sight, is a stark reminder of the financial climate within the sport and it is to Sauber's credit that they are out there at all. Veteran Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa is yet to trouble the scorers this season but Kamui Kobayashi, after a poor start in which he spent a lot of time off the road, has recently found the form that impressed at the end of last season and is a fearsome racer. Prediction: Kobayashi 13th, De La Rosa 18th

Virgin

The Richard Branson-backed team has had a tough baptism and appear not to be finding life in Formula One any easier as the season progresses. The Nick Wirth-designed cars started the year with fuel tanks that were too small to get them to the end of the race and although that was corrected when the season came to Europe not much has gone right since. Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi have had little opportunity to show what they are really made of and despite the goings-on at HRT they somehow look the least likely of the new teams to pick up the $17m for finishing 10th in the constructors' championship. Prediction: Glock 22, Di Grassi 24